Messages

451

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 20, 2013, 04:09 am »

In the case of a resident director, I would discuss any performer related notes with them directly before reporting, as well as take their input with what to include. 

I would discuss early in the process how they want me to report it, I would not discuss on every note - as in my case - the resident director may not see every show.  But, we would set up guidelines, if they want generic notes in the report  . . . and a note that detailed notes were to follow to the Resident Director.

I think that the main thrust of this question was to make sure that those producing and those that have an artistic stake in the show know the show is being maintained, without a separate set of notes being sent out as some people were being flooded by reports.  Perhaps is the more generic notes can be sent to all (Lines dropped), and more specific sent to separate mailing list (Dropped "to be or not to be" and "Slings and arrows" - Mr. Jones just mentally blanked . . . - and if the artistic director has a specific concern over the generic notes, he can ask for the detailed report.

As a show's performance report list grows and grows - especially when working on more commercial projects - you may find that your report goes to someone's secretary who has never seen the show.  Just be aware of that . . . and keep the notes clean, sharp, legal and full of tact.  Again, it will always be a judgement call - and only you know the entire situation you are reporting under.

452

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 19, 2013, 09:58 pm »

It's always going to be a judgement call, always.  But, given that in most theaters, the performance report list is vast, and the ability to send it on . . . you have a fine line to walk.  And this is wear tact, experience, and management skills come in.

If you are working in an AEA house, then I feel like "Acting" notes should not make it into the report.  Other then, something like . . .

"Different moment in TO BE OR NOT TO BE - will discuss with Mr. Olivier"

As far as these specific questions . . .

- A child actor mugging too much

Did the child actor mug at opening?  Is that the performance I need to maintain - again, may put "Mr. Harris's moment is growing in the present opening scene, note to be discussed."

- An actor skipping a line

"Some line issues in the second scene, notes given to all actors in the scene"

- An actor skipping an entire page

"Page of text skipped in the last scene.  Will discuss with all actors in the scene"

- An actor adding a bit of business

"The making tea portion of the show might grow into it's own little own act.  SM will discuss with Ms. Redgrave"

- Changes to choreographed combat.

This one scares me . . .

"Fight Choreography was off tonight.  SM will discuss and actors and fight captain, and we will work in detail during fight call tomorrow."

BUT - it wholly depends on the actor, the show, the director, the power I am given to maintain the show (Sometimes, as SM, I defer to a resident director to maintain the show.)

I also try to make my reports readable, and slightly entertaining themselves - often the people you are sending reports to are reading five other show reports as well. 

I think my target audience for a performance report is the producer.

453

The Hardline / Re: OFF-BROADWAY - Actors being the musicians and issues

« on: Jun 18, 2013, 10:04 pm »

To follow up, the cast of the show in particular came in every day at hour, 30 minutes before house opened, and jammed.  In the case they couldn't make it, we had their instrument waiting for them in the backstage area where they could tune or just warm up.  We also ended up hiring a guitar tech - who's only job was to tune, repair and maintain.


Post Merge: Jun 18, 2013, 10:46 pmAlso, we did work very closely with musicians union, and some members of our company had to join . . . very similar to the contract work out for the Broadway shows where actors play their own instruments . . . since this show is eyeing future life, we wanted to be on the up and up.  (It was made more complicated by pre-recorded tracks of studio musicians were also used.)

Ah, the joys of the gray areas where dealing with the unions.

454

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 17, 2013, 10:03 am »

if you put acting notes in there, you better be putting your own calling notes in there, along with every other crew note . . . fair is fair.

I am constantly surprised by how many SMs don't put calling errors in their reports.   

But, back to acting notes in Performance reports . . .

(The gift shop manager was removed from the mailing list . . . his supervisor forwarded any relevant notes to him directly.)

455

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 16, 2013, 09:40 pm »

if you put acting notes in there, you better be putting your own calling notes in there, along with every other crew note . . . fair is fair.

(Again, I disagree with acting notes in the report)

Once, I had the gift shop manager go up to an actor and talk to him about a missed entrance (which I do put in the reports) - and the actor went basaltic. Every since then I have been soooo careful what I put in the report, and how to wrangle in who gets the report - but I have done shows where my report goes out to 300 people (producers, assistants, designers, associated designers, etc, etc, etc.)

456

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: Acting maintenance notes in the Performance Report

« on: Jun 16, 2013, 12:24 am »

Do not put acting notes in the performance report.

One of the big things with email reports is that it can be forwarded.  So, once the note goes in the report, it becomes public.  AEA requires that individual actor notes be given in a seal envelope - I am pretty sure putting them in a public report goes against the spirit of the rule

The detail of giving a note to a performer may not be worth the space required.

This also leads to actors' notes getting to staff and tech, but not tech and staff notes given to actors.

And in the end, isn't the act of giving a note a discussion, or do your stage managers confident enough to just issue the notes and let it be?

What I have done on my long running show is issue an actor report, it would have run times, tech issues that affected them, daily call, any full cast notes, and then it said specific notes to actors to follow.

I would send out my specific notes to the actors, cc'ing the director.  Which did two things - one, allowed the director to see the notes, but also gave the notes a little more weight.

It still keeps them private and one on one.

I still think the best way to give notes is in person, and then summarize the notes via email to producers and artistic - but please, do not put them in the mass sent report - I can tell you what sort of trouble this gets into, and it's not good.

457

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: Fighting with Teenagers - a copyright story

« on: Jun 15, 2013, 02:39 am »

But, I think there is a bigger picture to this . . . all of the comments on the blog are true.

But, it's about putting a value on the things we create, the work we do.

458

The Green Room / ARTICLE: Fighting with Teenagers - a copyright story

« on: Jun 14, 2013, 02:13 pm »

from Jason Robert Browne's blog about trading sheet music . . .

http://jasonrobertbrown.com/2010/06/29/fighting-with-teenagers-a-copyright-story/

It's an interesting perspective on a hot topic.

459

Stage Management: Other / Re: COMMUNICATION: When things happen on the day off

« on: Jun 14, 2013, 12:26 pm »

At the end of the day, when I am working with a new company, I do let everyone know - producers, company manager, production manager know - that I can and should be called on my day off - even to inform me an incident that has already been resolved.  Better I have time to deal with POSSIBLE issues that may not know about.

But, when things come up, and others solve it on a Monday while I am resting . . . more power to them - as long as the come up with the right solution.

460

Employment / Re: Should The Cradle Rock?

« on: Jun 13, 2013, 06:07 am »

Anyway I'll explain. Under the LORT  B contract each show during the season requires an Equity SM and ASM, and one or two PAs are hired depending on where the show falls in the season. Well about 1/2 way through the run of each show the SM goes into rehearsal for the next show (with new PA's) and the ASM takes over the SM duties on the running show (with an equity required pay bump). If the ASM whose previous duties were "running the deck" is now in the booth "calling the show" does that not mean the PA is now basically taking on the duties of the ASM? If it is necessary to pay the ASM more when they bump up is it not reasonable to think the same thing could be said for the PA?

This is a hard one.  The pay bump is not something that producer wants to pay, they have to pay it.  I ran a program like this for years, where there was a SM, ASM, PA and Intern.  (Granted my intern was paid a very decent wage for theater, with overtime, sometimes making more then the AEA SMs on the show), and the intern was paid with housing - in a fairly structured intern program.  I don't think the pay bump should be paid to the PA, unless it was part of their contract.

Yes, the intern and apprenticeships as cheap labor is a problem.  How to solve it?  It's hard when people are willing to do it for free.  Unless people stand up for living wage, relocation packages, guaranteed hours.  It's part of the reason the AEA Union is so important - think, if Broadway producers could could hire non-AEA actors, they would do it . . . they could probably get good performers to fill roles at less then 1/3 of the cost, without pension and healthcare.  Because so many people are desperate for work . . . to create . . . they will work, work, work for so little.

I know young people are often desperate to credits, they will do anything for these jobs.  The main issue is low-paying job after low-paying job, when do you stand up and say "this is my value".  I know of a young stage manager who PA'ed themselves out of the business.  At the end of several years of PAing on Broadway, he found out that no one would hire him for a AEA position, because they know he could be hired at 350.00 a week.

It's a rough, rough business my friends.

461

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE: Low Pay/No Pay (UK article, interesting read)

« on: Jun 13, 2013, 05:59 am »

The part we are trained that it's okay for artists to be poor - is part of the myth and fantasy of this career choice.

First off, as a stage manager, I put myself at arms length from Artists - sometimes I am working on art, sometimes entertainment, often time commerce.  But somehow, somehow we are sold the entire myth as well, and often we buy into it.  Which then allows producers, directors, etc, to produce theater and not pay those who creating their vision.  Which would be fine, if this was our profession, what we do for money.  But, because we are believe we work in the arts, it's romantic to be poor and creating are - they get away with it. 

Combine that with an over flooded market, which makes us always feel a bit on insecurity, we are always desperate for the next experience, the next credit, the next job.

This doesn't go away.  I am 25 years into this career, and I still take opportunities to workshop new shows below unemployment for the chance to get in on the ground floor of new work that turn commercial.

I think if people had to be paid a living wage, there would be less theater, and less opportunities - yes, I know that will be the fall out of this.  But I am not sure less theatre is a bad thing.  I think better theater is the goal in the long run.

 

462

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: ARTICLE: Stage Managers using a paperless process

« on: Jun 13, 2013, 01:33 am »

Hi Guys,

This is all fascinating and so helpful to red about! Thanks guys!

My company is looking to go completely paperless with our scripts. We are thinking about using Kindles.

Any suggestions for what formats to put the scripts in? How can we edit them on a Kindle? How should we distribute them electronically?

Thanks everyone!!!
Grace

If you use PDF to be read on the kindle you can edit the PDF and re distribute.

But wait until someone drops a kindle.  How do you take blocking on a kindle?  How do you take notes on a kindle?  What happens when someone's battery dies?  Does he do the blocking tethered to the USB cord?  What happens when they loose a kindle?

I also think the cost might be prohibitive . . . and if this is an effort to go green, are you weighing the costs of producing the kindle, the energy used, etc . . . versus the paper copy, which can be recycled.

463

The Green Room / Re: ARTICLE:Fox Searchlight should have paid interns, judge rules

« on: Jun 13, 2013, 01:27 am »

I did not have the resume or experiance at the time to have actually worked in the capacity that I did on the production at the local equity theatre. I learned so very much that I would not have from professionals that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to make connections with. I can trace all of my paid work for the next several years back to connections I made on that internship. I was unpaid, but I got college credit (something addressed in the article) and feel that what I recieved was beyond what I could have acheived without it.

But couldn't you have made those connections by doing the job and being paid $400.00 a week?

I don't think we are going to see the death of unpaid internships - especially in the non-profit sector.  [This article was about an internship for a for-profit company in the movie business.]   I just anticipate that educational departments will have to do a better job in outlining the jobs assigned, making sure there is an education component to the work, and making sure there legality of the position upholds the test. But let's be honest, if you are fulfilling a job they would normally be needing to pay someone for . . . then let them pay minimum wage.

What I do see this changing is the notion of the PA in New York on for Profit Shows . . . and all those internships for profit shows in New York . . . this is where it will have a big impact.

Combine this with the article about the fringe I posted as well . . . let's see there be a minimum wage for theater . . . come on.  It's the way we making a living.

464

Stage Management: Other / Re: COMMUNICATION: When things happen on the day off

« on: Jun 13, 2013, 01:22 am »

Reading this email, I sort of assumed that this was going to be one of those cases where on your day off you had to work and problem solve.

But this is the opposite.

I think the only reason why you weren't pulled into the loop was because of the interchangeable nature of musicians . . . how often have there been subs in the orchestra I just simply was not told about because the contractor didn't think I cared about the second brass player.  (Often they will tell me about what subs for positions they think I think are important, but often, they don't.)

Sad the company manager didn't feel like they needed to reach out - but maybe everyone thought - it's the day off - don't bother the SM.  I have had that happen - where everyone felt like it was truly my day off, they wanted me to have it. 

465

The Green Room / ARTICLE:Fox Searchlight should have paid interns, judge rules

« on: Jun 12, 2013, 12:14 pm »

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/fox-searchlight-should-have-paid-interns-judge-rules-6C10292323

It may take awhile, but this could seriously effect theaters who rely heavily on interns.  I have seen this slowly coming over the past 13 years . . . although I hope theaters can figure out a way to provide a positive, education atmosphere for young theater-makers, the abuse needs to end.